


Like Our Second Home

by ireallyshouldnt_behere



Series: These Girls Are Famous [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21800554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ireallyshouldnt_behere/pseuds/ireallyshouldnt_behere
Summary: Shutting the door behind her, Jess paused and watched as Rey wheeled her suitcase into the grand room and shuffled off into the kitchen for some water. It had been a very busy few weeks, with traveling from New York to Korea and then off to California. Jess couldn’t remember the last time they had been on so many planes in such a short span of time. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, since she knew it was the last time that they had gone on a press release tour, but that was a different kind of travel. Especially with three kids in tow. This trip had been different. She didn’t realize until just now, as she sat and listened to the deafening silence of the empty penthouse apartment, how different her and her wife’s life are going to be now.
Relationships: Jessika Pava & Rey, Jessika Pava/Rey
Series: These Girls Are Famous [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/565546
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13





	Like Our Second Home

**Author's Note:**

> The end gets pretty dark, not in a bad way, I just want you all to be warned that there's talk of death.

Shutting the door behind her, Jess paused and watched as Rey wheeled her suitcase into the grand room and shuffled off into the kitchen for some water. It had been a very busy few weeks, with traveling from New York to Korea and then off to California. Jess couldn’t remember the last time they had been on so many planes in such a short span of time. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, since she knew it was the last time that they had gone on a press release tour, but that was a different kind of travel. Especially with three kids in tow. This trip had been different. She didn’t realize until just now, as she sat and listened to the deafening silence of the empty penthouse apartment, how different her and her wife’s life are going to be now.

“Jess?” Rey called from the kitchen, “you awake over there? You want to take the luggage into the room so we can ignore it for months?”

Jess snapped out of her trance and grabbed as many bags as she could and kicked the rolling luggage down the hall until she had successfully thrown everything into their room. Shaking her head at knowing they won’t unpack for weeks, she turned around and headed to join her wife in the kitchen who was waiting for her with waters and whatever snack she scrounged up from the empty cupboards. They would probably have to go shopping tomorrow to restock, but for the moment, the two girls just sat in silence and ate semi-stale chips.

“I can’t believe they’re all gone,” Jess finally huffed out after a few minutes of Rey giving her the all-knowing side eye. After nearly 28 years of knowing each other, the two girls pretty much have mastered one another’s feelings and expressions. Rey could tell that Jess started getting weird on the plane home.

“Jess,” Rey began, but her wife continued without showing that she had heard Rey.

“Did we do something wrong?” Jess whispered, looking like she was searching for answers that weren’t there. “Why did they all have to go so far away? Couldn’t they all have just gone to NYU?”

“Oh, Jess,” was all Rey could think of to say in this moment. It was true, all three of their kids had decided on colleges that weren’t even in the state of New York. Sam had stayed the closest, getting into Harvard for Business Economics, while Lou and Katie both ended up at UCLA. Lou is their most artistic kid, unlike his two siblings who are much more studious and academic. He got into the international program and is now doing a year abroad in Korea. Rey was a realist though, and she knew with how much traveling they did with the kids when they were younger that all three of them would want a taste of the world outside NYC. She was ok with it all; she did the same thing for herself, even though the circumstances were vastly different. Rey had wanted to get out of the hellhole life she was in and wanted to start new elsewhere. Their kids, while they never spoiled them outright, have lived a life of privilege and are able to go anywhere they want, and Rey wants to nurture that. They are always only a plane flight away.

“How about we go shower?” She finally suggested, noting her wife’s glossy eyes. Rey nudged Jess, who finally looked up and smiled once she realized what was just asked.

“We?”

“We,” Rey smirked back, grabbing her wife’s hand and leading her down the hall and into their room. Getting time alone together when the kids were young was extremely hard. Even with locking doors, the little devils somehow managed to break them up whenever the girls wanted time to themselves. As they all grew up and started to become independent it was definitely easier to get time alone, but it had been over 21 years since the girls truly had their apartment to themselves, and oh boy were they looking forward to exploring all the possibilities again.

At nearly 52, Rey and Jess definitely weren’t young and spry women anymore, but by no means were they fragile and deteriorated old ladies. Having always been very active and healthy, both girls were still energetic and showing no signs of slowing down. The only slow thing they could even think of right now would be to take a slow shower, maybe even a bath, and take the time to reacquaint themselves fully with one another’s bodies. Wash each other’s hair, slide soapy hands the entire lengths of their body, and leave trails of wet kisses on all the known spots that drive one another crazy. The shower was extremely wasteful in terms of water, but holy shit did they need that, both to clean themselves from all the travel and just to comfort each other in the wake of realization that all their kids have left the proverbial nest.

“I think I’m going to lie down for a bit,” Rey mumbled sleepily once they finally got out of the shower and dressed in the comfiest of pajamas. “Want to join?”

“I think I’ll stay up a bit longer and unpack,” Jess replied with a distracted smile, “I’ll join in a bit, alright?”

Jess never wound up in the bed with Rey, the latter of whom just woke up amazingly refreshed but slightly sad that she didn’t have a warm, cuddly wife next to her. She was content to lay there for a bit and reminisce on her dream of flying around the Eiffel Tower like superman, but heard a sniffle from their office in the room next door. Oh, my girl. Slipping out of bed and throwing on one of Jess’ old hoodies, Rey tip-toed into the room where she heard the sniffles and peaked inside to see what her wife was doing.

If it wasn’t so heartbreaking, Rey might have laughed at the sight before her. Lying on the floor amidst piles of old family photo albums, Jess was holding up a stack of mixed baby pictures of their three kids and crying a little more with each one she looked at. Physical photos were a rarity these days, but the girls were 90’s babies and picture albums were the absolute shit back then, and making them for the kids was a really fun thing to do together. Rey loved being able to flip through old pictures by hand instead of on the computer, and even now, watching her wife sobbing on the floor surrounded by tiny faces, she could only love it all.

“Jessika Pava,” Rey said softly as she finally walked into the room. “You are an absolute mess.”

“Look at her cheeks, Rey!” Jess sobbed as she thrust a picture of their daughter on her first birthday. “Have you ever seen such kissable, smooshable cheeks?? And now she decides to be all grown up and wants to be a doctor…”

“Jess,”

“And look at Lou riding a bike and Sam chasing him on a skateboard with his broken arm!”

“Jessika,”

“Where did our babies go, Rey? I wasn’t ready for this. I thought I was, but I’m not.”

Rey couldn’t do anything but sink to the floor and scoop her wife up onto her lap and soothe her. Jess had been so strong the last few weeks, and it had been Rey getting all emotional about their kids going off into the world, so she knew the pain that her wife was feeling right now. She also knew that it would get better. Watching your children grow and become their own person is frightening, but it is amazing, and it has to happen eventually. Rey will sit here and rub sweet circles on her wife’s back as long as the sobbing girl needs it.

“I don’t think the pain will go away, Jess,” Rey whispered soothingly into her wife’s ear, “I think we will always miss them, until our dying breath. I also think that it will get easier being away with time. We should focus on the positives like watching them accomplish all of their goals they set for themselves and just see them become the rad little adults that we know they will be. I’m also really ready to get back to having you all on my own.” She finished that last sentence with a reassuring squeeze. Sobbing on the floor surrounded by old family photos wasn’t really what Rey had in mind for their first night back together in solitude. Oh well, life is full of the unexpected.

They just sat on the floor for a while, not needing to talk but just enjoying the closeness and intimacy of being able to cry together comfortably. Once Rey’s but started to go numb she figured it was time to get up.

“Come on, Jess,” she began by begrudgingly pushing her slumped wife off of her, “let’s just go to bed.” Jess just nodded in agreement and half got up herself and half let Rey pull her to her feet. Luckily it wasn’t a very far walk to their room, because once they both got off the floor they realized how absolutely exhausted they really were. Even Rey, who had napped earlier, was fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

//

Jess vaguely remembered hearing a softly whispered ‘I’ll be back soon,’ and even softer lips on her forehead. She might have mumbled something in reply, but truth be told, she was in such a zombie like state that whatever she may have said would not have been coherent English. No matter. Waking up some time later to a very bright bedroom, Jess marveled at how refreshed she felt. She was sad that her wife wasn’t lying next to her, just as cozy and relaxed, but that was just how Rey was. Her wife was never the sort of person to lie around in bed and wait for the other person to wake up. If Jess had no intentions of getting up soon, Rey would just go off and do her own thing.

Shuffling her way into the kitchen, Jess found the note her wife had left stating that she was going for a walk and that she would stop for some food for them on the way home. She couldn’t be sure if Rey had left 10 minutes or a couple of hours ago, so she just brewed herself some coffee and turned on the TV for some background noise. She had just sat down and gotten cozy when she heard her phone ring from across the apartment. Too late, she thought, I’m already comfy. If it’s important they’ll call again.

She was two cups deep into caffeine heaven and almost through two documentaries when she started to wonder where her wife was. Their first full day back and she was taking this long? It wasn’t unusual for Rey to go on long walks, but Jess was getting hungry and she really hoped her beautiful wife would traipse through that huge front door with arms full of food. She got up to get her phone and see if maybe Rey had been the one to call her earlier and see if she was awake yet.

Her heart stopped when she saw a missed call and a voicemail from Mount Sinai Hospital. No. Shaking violently and feeling like she was about to pass out, Jess listened to the voicemail.

“Jess,” Katie, who was now head nurse of the E.R., said softly. “It’s Rey. It’s…not good…”

No. No. No no no no no no NO!

She didn’t even bother to finish the voicemail. She didn’t bother to put socks on. She didn’t even bother to lock the door as she ran full tilt out of the apartment and slammed the elevator button. The thirty-second wait for the doors to ding open felt like an eternity. She was trying to decide whether to drive herself or to take a taxi, and chose the latter as the elevator doors dinged once more and spilled her into the main lobby of their apartment building. She hurtled towards the front doors and out into the main road, ignoring the startled cry from the doorman who she always stopped to talk to. She could hear him call her name a few times, though faintly, as she hailed a cab and climbed in without a backwards glance.

As much as she tried not to go to the darkest parts in her mind, Jess could only replay the voicemail over and over in her head.

‘Jess, it’s Rey. It’s…not good.’  
‘Jess, it’s Rey. It’s…not good.’  
‘Jess, it’s Rey. It’s…not good.’

She threw a $100 bill at the driver and was out of the door before the car could even come to a stop. This hospital was like a second home to their family, all beginning with Rey’s first admittance all those years ago. It has been their haven between broken bones and sore throats, and even one day changing a name of a ward to their own. Jess knew exactly where she was going, she had been here enough times, but this time was different. Besides the first time Rey got hurt after the Ben episode, her wife had always been right next to her. Now her wife of 25 years is in there, and Jess is going in without a clue as to what happened or if Rey was…

Nope, she’s not even going down that route. It’s unthinkable.

Running through the double-sliding doors of the Emergency entrance, Jess is greeted by an eerie calm as everyone stops to look at her. They all know who she is, one for being ridiculously famous still, and for their patronage to this hospital and all its employees. Katie, Rey’s nurse during her first stay, has turned into a life-long friend. Katie, who just dropped her clipboard onto the nurses’ station and rushed toward the panting girl in the doorway.

“Jess, thank god!” Katie said in defeat once she was in front of her. “I’ll explain on the way.”

“Where is she?” was all that Jess could spit out, thankful it wasn’t vomit from her upturned stomach.

“She was still in surgery last time I checked,” Katie replied as she rushed down a hall towards the employee elevators. “I have to take you to the waiting room, but I will update you as much as possible.”

“I still have to stay downstairs in the ER,” Katie said in a softer voice now that they were alone in the elevator and going up a few floors. “I’ll just have to send an aid to keep you updated.”

“What happened?” Jess wasn’t ready, she never will be ready to hear about Rey getting hurt, but Katie doesn’t look like she has lost any hope which gives her a boost of confidence, however small it may be.

“She and three other people got hit by a car which drove through a pedestrian crossing. One person died, one had minor injuries, and then Rey and another little girl are still in surgery.”

Once the door opened Katie lead Jess down a few more hallways until she found a secluded, empty waiting room and gestured for her to sit down. Once she did, Katie continued on.

“I’ll spare the details,” Katie said with a grimace, which means it looked very nasty because she usually loves to embellish, or maybe it was because that was her friend lying on a table. “Rey’s right femur was shattered, broke all the ribs on her right side which punctured the lung, broke her scapula and clavicle, and has a compression skull fracture on the right side. There’s also tons of scrapes and bruises but those don’t matter much. I think the femur is what is taking so long. It wasn’t a pretty x-ray.”

“What time did this happen at?” Jess asked to get a rough estimate of how long her wife has been in surgery.

“They wheeled her into surgery at 8:40,” Katie answered without hesitation. She had been checking the surgery stats every five minutes, so she knew exactly what was going on. “So she has been in there for about 3 ½ hours now.”

“Oh god,” Jess mumbled to herself. She felt like the worst wife in the entire world right now. Why hadn’t she been here earlier? Why didn’t she just pick up the phone earlier? Why didn’t she just wake up before Rey and then none of this would have happened.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself Jess, you’re here now.” Katie seemed to always know what was going on in Jess’s head during stressful times. She probably sees it enough since she does this daily, but still. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“Actually, yea,” Jess said after a few seconds. “Can you call Poe and have him come down here? I forgot my phone at home.” She was in more than just a rush this morning; she probably would have forgotten to put clothes on if she wasn’t already wearing them.

Katie nodded and walked out, calling back behind her that she will send up water and Jess better drink it or else. She probably also sees that a lot, nervous family members never getting enough fluids themselves. But now all she can do is wait…alone…with her thoughts. Jess isn’t an anxious person, usually. She has had flagrant and ridiculous amounts of confidence for as long as she can remember. She is, or tries to be, very strong in every situation she is faced with…but this is different. It’s Rey. Not only did Rey get hurt, but the girls aren’t exactly in their 20’s anymore. Healing takes a bit more time and patience.

Time is a funny thing when you aren’t paying attention to it and your world seems to be crashing down around you with every passing heartbeat. It could have been 10 minutes or 3 hours before Poe got to the hospital, Jess couldn’t really know. She heard her best friend’s labored breath and heavy feet down the hall and opened the door to meet him.

“Jess!” the man all but cried as he grabbed her into a fierce and tight hug. They stood there for who knows how long in an unbreakable embrace; lifelong friends, holding onto one another so severely; afraid that if they separate then they will fall apart.

After some time they finally broke apart, Jess feeling only a small portion better than she did previously but now that Poe was here she at least had someone who could snap her out of any bad thoughts.

“Katie gave me a quick rundown of what happened,” Poe cooed as he sat down and drank some of the water that Jess was supposed to have drunk a long time ago. Whoops. “What do you need me to do?”

“Same as always,” she replied stoically. Being in the public eye always has its disadvantages when it comes to trying to keep things quiet when the family wants something to remain private. This doesn’t always work. In fact, it almost never works since the Pava’s are so loved across the globe and the public always wants to know what is going on. Most of the time it’s endearing, but Jess just doesn’t want to deal with that shit right now, to be honest.

Poe is loved and respected by most large media outlets these days so his job is whenever the girl’s have something going on and they need to make a statement for the news, Poe calls around and gives a spark-notes and they will hold off for a while until Poe says they can release the statement. This is going to be a tough one to keep in the dark for as long as they can, Jess can just feel it.

“Just wait until after we hear more about Rey, ok?” Jess continued. “Oh, and can I use your phone to call the kids? I forgot mine.”

“Yea of course,” Poe said as he jumped to his feet and pulled his phone from his back pocket. “I’ll go stop by the house and get your phone and some basic necessities, yea?”

A simple nod was all Jess could reply with. Poe handed over his phone, kissed her on the forehead, and was gone to do what Poe does best.

One by one she called each of their kids. They’re all adults now and moved away, but Jess never imagined that she would have to call each of her babies and tell them that mom had been in an accident. She didn’t sugar coat what was going on, and she didn’t give them any more information, she couldn’t. She didn’t have any more information herself. ‘Mom was in an accident and is in surgery right now. I don’t know any more than that. Stay at school if you have to, but if you want to come home you can use the emergency card, cost isn’t an issue.’

Those few sentences would haunt all of them for the next few hours. What is going to happen? It was a brutal wait. Poe had no games on his phone so Jess just sat there for what seemed like forever until Poe came back with a bag of food and clothes not too much later.

“Any word?” he asked as he opened up the box of pizza and slid a slice onto a napkin, handing it to Jess.

“Nothing,” she replied, crestfallen. Katie probably doesn’t want to waste her time if there is no news, and Jess doesn’t want to bother anyone by asking all the time, so she is just content to sit here and go crazy. Poe just shook his head and took a large bite out of his piece, slurping up a saucy pepperoni slice that had missed his mouth.

“I called Finn too,” Poe mumbled out through his almost chewed pizza. Jess would be grossed out at his eating habits if she didn’t have anything else to think about at the moment. But she perked up at the thought of Finn. Poor guy is always so far away when something happens to his Rey. “He said he would be here as soon as he could.”

They sat in silence, both just lost in their own thoughts, slowly eating and drinking water, waiting for any sort of news. Sam arrived first, showing up not too long after her and Poe had finished their food.

“Mom!” he sobbed and basically fell into her. Even at nearly 22, and towering over her at 6 ft something, he will always be her little boy. She cradled him the best she could.

“How did you get here so fast, Sam?” she asked a little shocked. It couldn’t have been more than three hours since she called and Boston isn’t exactly the next town over.

“I got him on a private jet,” Poe answered first. “I figured you would tell them all to use the emergency card and spare no expense, so I called all of their nearest airports and got them on whatever was quickest. Kate got a private jet as well, and should be here in another hour or so. I got Lou a first-class seat on a regular flight but he won’t be here for a while. The damn kid had to pick Korea, didn’t he?”

Before Jess could reply, Katie came in.

“Jess, come with me,” Katie said sweetly, but not in her fake-sweet nurse voice. Jess couldn’t really tell if things were ok or not ok, but she felt as though all of her intestines were now on the floor.

“Can I come?” Sam asked, almost begging. Jess looked back at Katie too, since she didn’t know if this was going to be something her son should hear or see.

“I’m ok with it if you are, Jess.” Jess nodded to Sam, said sorry to Poe, and then followed Katie out of the room, not knowing what was going to come next.

//

Katie led Jess and Sam down hallway after hallway, finally coming to the surgery recovery ward. Just before the door into the ward, however, Katie directed them into a small conference room just off to the right, which Jess figured was their “news to the family room.”

Packed inside of the room were several doctors and a few nurses, chatting amongst themselves until the three of them entered the room.

“These are the surgeons and aids that performed the surgery,” Katie said as she gestured to the crowd now facing Jess and her son. “We wanted to give you the rundown before we let you in to see her.”

“I’m Dr. Sky,” said the hippy looking old man in the very front, stepping forward and shaking Jess and Sam’s hands. “I’m an orthopedic surgeon. Mrs. Pava had a vast amount of broken bones including all the ribs on her right side, her collar bone, and her shoulder blade was snapped in half. We can’t really do much for those types of breaks besides put a bone-graft mesh on them and hope for the best, but my biggest worry was her femur. It really was a nasty break. We usually stick a rod down the center of the femur, but her bone was broken in a couple different places so we had to reconstruct the femur first, place the mesh on, and then gently insert the rod. It will take some time, but I believe she will heal up just fine.”

“I’m Dr. Lan,” said the another doctor to right of the hippy orthopedic surgeon before Jess could ask any questions. “I’m a pulmonologist, or lung doctor. Mrs. Pava’s right lung had been punctured by a broken rib, and had begun to fill with blood. My main concern was that some bone fragments could have found their way into her lung; my team found nothing and closed off the puncture. Her lungs should be just fine.”

“I’m Dr. Jyn,” continued the next doctor without a beat. At this point Jess had gotten the picture that they didn’t want any questions yet and she was just shutting up until they were all done talking. “I’m the general surgeon who was in charge of taking care of any outward injuries that Mrs. Pava received. We stitched up a few lacerations that she received during the accident and we will continue to monitor her closely for any infections.”

“I’m Dr. Tico, Mrs. Pava,” said the sweet girl who looked to be about Sam and Lou’s age. “I’m a neurosurgeon and I am monitoring her head wound and brain activity.” The room got eerily silent at this, as they all waited with bated breath. Jess, who had started to feel confident that Rey was going to be ok, was suddenly terrified again.

“There was a lot of swelling inside your wife’s skull from the impact, Mrs. Pava,” Dr. Tico explained sweetly. “We relieved all the pressure and monitored the brain function throughout the surgery and still are. However, anything can happen with a head injury like that, and even with all of the medical advances we have come across in the past few decades, the brain is still very…temperamental. As of right now, it really is just a waiting game to see how her brain will recover.”

“Thank you all,” Sam said after a moment when his mom didn’t reply. She couldn’t help herself. It was a major information overload and she was trying to process everything. Brain swelling just circulated around her own head again and again. Brains are so temperamental. Anything could go wrong. Oh, Rey.

“Only one person can go into recovery at a time,” Katie broke in which signaled as a dismissal to all the surgeons and their aids. “Sam,” she continued, “you can either stay here and wait or go back to Poe and wait for your brother and sister.”

“I’ll go wait and let everyone know what happened,” Sam replied before hugging his mom and Katie and leaving the room.

“Ready?”

“Of course not.” How could Jess be ready for this? She obviously didn’t have a choice, but there really was no way to prepare for what she was about to see.

Walking into Rey’s recovery room, Jess could feel her heart constrict, explode, and nearly die right then and there. This was worse, so much worse than when Rey was admitted after the Ben incident all those years ago. She was hooked onto a breathing machine and had all kinds of wires and fluids connecting onto various parts of her body. Rey’s eyes were still taped shut from the surgery, gauze wrapped around her head like a mummy costume, and some small patches indicated where she had to have stitches. Jess just sat there, taking in every inch of her wife, letting the beeps of all the machines drown out any negative thoughts that permeated her conscious. She’s alive. Someone in the same accident didn’t make it. That could have been her Rey.

“How’s the little girl?” Jess asked, breaking through the deafening sounds of the machines, of the little girl who was in surgery next to Rey.

“She’s going to be ok,” Katie said gently as she also stared longingly at her best friend on that bed. Reminiscing sadly of when she took care of Rey all those years ago. What a friendship that had built from that crazy encounter! “Her older brother was walking her to school, but he’s ok too.”

“So what happens next, Kate?”

“She will be in recovery for another hour or so just for monitoring,” Katie started after a pause. “Then she will be moved to the ICU where they will be able to watch her 24/7. They will start by taking out her breathing tube and getting her to work on strengthening the lung. After that they will start to try and wake her up and start to test out her memory. Once she is awake and showing good signs of recovery, she will be moved to a recovery unit until she is fit to go home. But then physical therapy starts, and that will be a long and hard process with that leg break.”

They stayed silent for some time, just watching the rise and fall of Rey’s lungs being filled with oxygen from a machine. Jess tried to stay calm and not blame herself for not waking up this morning along with her wife. What if they had gone together? Would Jess be hurt just as bad? Would they have left maybe a little earlier, or maybe a little later, and missed the whole incident altogether? She survived, Jess kept repeating. She survived and someone didn’t. If Rey hadn’t made it…

“Do you want to go see if Kate has got here yet?” Katie asked finally, drawing Jess’s attention away from diving too far into madness by the shear thought of Rey not making it out of the accident.

“Yea, ok,” Jess replied, taking one more sweeping look over her wife and whispering ‘I’ll be back, Rey’ before turning and leaving the room.

Small Kate, which everyone in the family calls her to avoid confusion around her namesake, was waiting outside of the family waiting room which Poe and Sam were still in. Once she saw Jess and Katie coming down the hall, she broke into a full sprint, only coming to a stop when she crashed full-body into her mom, nearly knocking both of them down.

“It’s going to be ok,” Jess cooed as she stroked her daughter’s hair. Kate was a strong girl that didn’t really cry at much, but this was her mom. Jess had to be strong, for all of them, she won’t give in yet. “Look at me, Kate.” She pulled her back a little and waited for the girl to do as she was told.

“My future doctor,” she reminded the girl of her chosen profession, “watch everyone around here, this is what you want to do. The best of the best are here, taking care of your mom. She will be ok. We will be ok. This is what they are here for, ok?” She waited for Kate to nod, then nodded herself, and the three of them walked down the hall and into the waiting room where Poe and Sam were playing some card games to pass the time.

Closing the door behind them, Jess and Katie gave the room a basic rundown of what happened and what will happen. There basically wasn’t anything any of them could do but wait. Sam and Kate could go see their mom once she was taken into the ICU, but they wanted to wait for their brother, who wouldn’t be there for a few more hours at least. Katie left to go back to work, Sam and Poe went back to their game, and Jess cuddled Kate on the couch as they both sat in silence and watched the boys try and pass time. They could all sense the uneasiness in the air. Waiting sucked ass. After about another hour or so, Katie came back in the room.

“They’re going to move her from recovery into the ICU now, if you all want to follow me,” she said. “There’s a waiting room closer so you don’t have to be so far away. Once she’s in there, they only allow four visitors at a time.”

Getting up and moving around helped a lot. Sitting and staring at blank walls could really drive someone mad. It was no different than when they were in the other waiting room, but the change of scenery was a little better. This room had a TV at least with movies they could choose from.

Jess took Poe in with her once Rey was transferred into the ICU and her room was all set up. They didn’t stay long, Poe had a hard time looking at all of the things connected to her and all the machines beeping. She couldn’t blame him, she had a hard time herself, but she was going to be there for her wife until the end no matter what.

Finn showed up a few hours later looking just as stressed as the last time he crossed the pond to find out what was going on with his Rey. They all sat huddled together and told him everything. It had been a while since they had all visited each other so it was really nice to catch up. It was definitely a quick reprieve from the day they were all having, but that obviously could only last so long. Visiting hours besides for immediate family were over by the time Finn had gotten there so he wouldn’t be able to go in and see Rey until the morning. It was starting to get pretty late and Jess didn’t want anyone to have to stay uncomfortable in these waiting room chairs.

“There’s a hotel right down the street I can get some rooms in for everyone?” she tried to bring up, but there was a resounding ‘we’re not going anywhere’ from the group which shut her up.

“Poe,” Finn followed after Jess’s question, “want to come with me to get food for everyone?” Poe just nodded and stood up.

“Use the emergency card, Poe,” Jess called to the men as they left the room. If they wouldn’t stay in a hotel, the least she could do is buy all the food. Though, the kids’ flights out here might have cost a pretty penny, no matter how rich they were. That will be an interesting bill.

While they waited for the two men to return, Jess entertained herself by thinking about how happy she was that even though Poe and Finn didn’t work out as a couple, that their relationship was still strong enough to be friends and be able to hang out together even after all this time. Poe is honestly the best uncle to all of the Pava kids and the Storm kids. All 6 of them! She was just remembering the Christmas where Finn’s youngest started to walk and destroy everything in his wake when the men of her memories appeared back into the room carrying bags filled with more than just food.

“What have you done?” Jess asked in part curiosity and part horror.

“Food, blankets, and pillows!” Finn proclaimed proudly as he set the bags on the floor and started to unwrap all the new goodies. “Poe and I figured that we might be here a while, so we might as well be cozy.”

She couldn’t argue with that. Hospitals are sort of stingy when it comes to letting family who are waiting to have some blankets. Just shrugging her shoulders, Jess grabbed the offered blanket/pillow combo, took a box of Chinese out of Finn’s famous food assortment, and went to sit in the corner and observe her favorite family, minus a few. Filling herself up on only a few bites, she waited and watched one by one of everyone falling asleep, and only then would she let herself get some rest.

Her sleep was broken, uncomfortable, and full of bad dreams. Nothing about Rey being hurt, but they were all about being chased by demons. The demons that haunt her for not being there with her wife while it happened. The demons began to pull at her, rocking her, mocking her. It was getting worse and worse until…

“Mom!”

Jess bolted awake and nearly karate chopped her son, who still had his hand on her shoulder. He had been the one pulling at her, not the demons. She was instantly in panic mode, wondering why Sam was waking her up, until her eyes focused out of their dreary state and realized that it was actually Louis. Damn identical twins.

“Lou!” She yelled a little more loudly than she probably should have. She crushed him into a massive hug and they just swayed back and forth for a few seconds together.

“How is she?” Lou whispered finally, pulling his mom back to get a good look at her. He always seemed to know exactly how his moms were feeling, even if they tried to lie to him. By now, Jess didn’t even try and hide it.

“We haven’t gone in since last night,” she replied in an equally soft voice, trying not to wake up those still in the room. “Sam and Kate wanted to wait for you.” He just smiled at that. It must be really hard for him to be so far away from everyone, especially his brother. Their bond is something she’s never seen before.

“What time is it?” Jess asked. There weren’t any windows in this room so all the artificial light threw off her sense of time.

“Close to 7am, I think?”

Wow, she had slept way longer than she thought she would. Not like it’s a bad thing, she definitely needed her rest, but she’s aching to go see her wife and get any updates.

“I am beyond happy to see you Lou Lou,” Jess cooed. “But stay here and wait for everyone to wake up while I go and see if there are any updates. Your uncles bought hoards of food so if you’re hungry I’m sure you can look around and find something to eat, ok?”

Sweet as he's been since the day the girls met him, Lou just smiled at his mom and shooed her away to go find out any news. Taking a moment to gaze upon her children and the two men that have been a vital part of their little family, Jess sighed and walked out into the hall to see her wife.

//

“It’s been two weeks, Dr. Tico!” Jess huffed as she tried to stay calm. “How is it that we still don't know why she isn't waking up?”

“I understand how frustrating this must be for you and your family, Mrs. Pava” Dr. Tico soothed. “The brain is a mysterious thing. Your wife’s vitals are incredible, she is breathing all on her own, her brain functions are stellar so we cannot give you a definitive answer as to why she isn’t waking up yet. As far as I and our team is concerned, she is making an incredible recovery, but sometimes sleep is the best medicine and she is getting a lot of sleep.”

Dr. Tico was right, of course. Rey had been healing above and beyond her team of doctors’ expectations, especially for someone her age. Her lungs were working like champs, none of her lacerations had gotten infected, and even her femur was receiving the grafts well enough to start healing properly. Jess just couldn't understand WHY she wasn't waking up, or even showing signs of wanting to wake up.

And as though Dr. Tico could read her thoughts and mood, she broke Jess out of her reverie by asking a simple question not asked yet.

“Have you tried talking to her?”

“Excuse me?” Jess asked almost with a laugh.

“Yes, have you talked to her?” Tico continued without giving Jess a chance to answer. “And I don’t mean talking as in ‘good morning Rey, we love you and we are here for you!’ As nice as that is, it becomes a little humdrum.”

Dr. Tico turned away from the sleeping form of Rey to face Jess full on. “I mean really talk to her, Jess. Tell her stories of your life, of your lives together, even if it seems ridiculous. This is off the record but some people have said that they can hear people talk when they are in comas and if you fill her ears and head with nothing but stories of your lives and adventures and kids it might awaken her subconscious somehow and kick her awake.”

Dr. Tico put a soft hand on Jess’s shoulder, gave a little squeeze, and then left the room.  
She sat and thought for a long while, just looking at the serene form of her wife. Watching the gentle rise and fall of a sturdy chest that caged two perfect lungs and the heart she held most dear to her own. Minutes, maybe hours who knows, passed by before their three children came in quietly and just sat with Jess. Eventually she told them what Dr. Tico had mentioned, and suggested that they talk to their mom first and tell her the stories that they would want her to hear first. Jess was going to go get some rest while she knew her wife was in good hands. She needed a little time to think about where to even begin in telling Rey the things that she would want her to hear; what she thinks might even have a chance of waking her wife up.

That night was the first night she had slept in nearly two weeks. She treated herself and finally stayed at the hotel next to the hospital instead of in the chair next to Rey’s bed. She didn’t feel too guilty, as she knew their kids were sitting with Rey and that she wouldn’t be alone if she woke up. Her last thought before drifting into a deep slumber was of her family, and how truly lucky she was.

Time is a funny thing when you are spending all of it living in a hospital, forgetting to care about yourself and only thinking of the one person you want to talk to so badly but they can’t seem to want to wake up and do the same. Time seems to be even funnier when you finally get a good nights rest, and sleep for nearly 14 hours while your kids stay vigilant by their moms side. As restful as Jess’s sleep was, when she saw how long she had been gone for she raced out of bed with almost as much ferocity as when she first found out that Rey was in the hospital in the beginning. She had her hand on the hotel room door when she finally stopped to collect herself. Rey, her sweet and perfect Rey, would be so upset if she knew that Jess hadn’t been taking care of herself during all this time.

Being consoled by the fact that Rey had the best team of doctors in the world on her case and that their three children were with her, Jess took time to actually shower properly, get dressed and get something actually nutritious before heading back to the hospital. She knew she had made the right choice in taking care of herself a little too as she just felt a little happier and more optimistic as she stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button to her wife’s floor.

“You look rested!” little Kate cheered as she saw her mom come off the elevator and towards the waiting room. She was in the middle of what looked like a very heated game of Uno with her Uncle Poe. Throwing down her last card, a +4, and taunting I win! before running and slamming into a giant hug with her mom.

“I feel a little guilty that I might have been too rested,” Jess muffled into the craziness that is her daughter’s wonderful hair. “It definitely felt nice to get all that sleep in though.”

“Don’t feel guilty mom,” Kate said gently, “we all have been taking turns talking to mom, just like you said. I went first, Uncle Finn went after me, then Uncle Poe, and now the boys are in there together.”

She wrapped Poe and Kate into a fierce hug and held on as tight as she could. “Thank you guys...so much. I can’t even begin to thank you for everything.”

“You know I would always go to the ends of the earth for you, Jess.” Poe squeezed a little tighter with that, and let both the girls go.

“Well who knows how long the boys will be in there for,” Poe continued while gesturing to the table behind him. “How about we lose a game of Uno here to our little Kate?”

“Are you forgetting the master that trained my daughter?” Jess laughed

“Mum,” Kate argued, “mom taught us how to play Uno.”

“Well your uncle Poe didn’t know that! Now go on Miss Kate and beat us both.”

And beat them both she did, three times in fact, before Sam and Louis finally came back into the waiting room. It was time to change Rey’s dressings and IV’s and they had been just keeping her company up until that point. All of them together, minus Finn who had to return home earlier that day, chatted for a little while until a nurse came to inform them that the shift change was done and that someone could come back in.

“How about you all head home and shower and get some rest.” Jess didn’t say it as a suggestion, she knew that she wanted to be alone with her wife and that it would take a while. Damn it it was going to take all the time she needed and what she also needed was to know that her kids and her Poe were going to rest after holding such a steady guard these last few weeks. To her delight, not a single one of them tried to fight her on it, and one by one they gave her a tight hug and a brisk but loving kiss on the cheek until, finally, she was alone.

She let herself take three deep breaths before finally making her way towards her wife’s room. There were still a couple of nurses in there doing charting and changing bags, but soon enough they were gone too and Jess vaguely heard them say that she would be alone unless needed. She might have nodded, but she can’t really remember. Jess slowly takes a seat next to her sleeping wife and drinks her in. Rey is still sporting numerous bruises and cuts that are all in various levels of healing, but to Jess, it doesn't change her beauty one bit. Nothing, Jess laughs to herself, could change how beautiful Rey is to her because she loves her so profoundly in every other sense imaginable that her looks are just the cherry on top of a love sundae that Jess is so lucky to get to eat daily. The truest of love that has grown between these two women over the last few decades is truly something the world sees so infrequently that it's almost unbelievable, but Jess knows it to be true. Thats why its so hard for her to think of where to start talking with as much adventure and chaos they have been through, it would take years and not as though Jess would not be happy to spend years telling their story, she's trying to get her girl to wake up here! That is why she decided to start at the beginning, like every good story does.

“I think I knew,” Jess began softly after a few minutes of just holding Rey’s delicate hand. “I think I knew right away that I wanted to love you for the rest of my life. The movies and books can never prepare you for how it feels though, you know? It was just like, there you were with your bright eyes and cute as overalls and all I wanted to do was give you everything you ever could want, and frankly I was terrified. I had never felt something so immediate and strong, but I could tell that you were a little nervous and reserved, but determined. Oh boy were you determined! You always have been and I love that so much about you, Rey. There is so much that I love about you that I’m going to get lost and have to redirect and go back and forth with stories but I just want you to hear me and how much I love you, do you understand that?”

And that is exactly what Jess did, for nearly 7 hours straight. She talked about how she put together that first crazy birthday gift with all of the envelopes and how she did not expect at all for it to end how it did but she is forever grateful for it. She got lost in so many stories and was probably not even getting most of them right but as long as Jess got the major ones covered she thought that was the best course of action to show Rey how much she has meant to her and how having her in her life has eternally made her happy.

How can someone fit 28 years of love into one story? It seems impossible, and it almost is. Love isn't always easy and it isn't at all what the movies show, even if Rey and Jess had starred in romance movies themselves. Love is a struggle and a commitment to each other every single day even when its hard but knowing that if that person you chose to spend your life with is your partner through thick and thin then you will be able to weather any storm that comes their way. Jess just started to spout out anything that came to her head because by the third hour she had lost any train of thought or plan she had set forth to in the beginning and she knows Rey will forgive her.

“I think the most exciting thing about our lives, Rey, was watching how our love evolved around all of the new things we were experiencing. We had that lusty, sweet, enchanting love the first few years but when we got the boys? I swear my heart didn't know whether to swell or burst every time I saw you rock those babies to sleep and sing them a lullaby even if they were already asleep. Everything with our kids just created this separate folder of love for you that I had no idea I could feel and I wish I could have frozen time so often to watch you dance with them or teach them how to ski or ride a bike or even help do homework. I have loved you so profoundly even in what most people would consider mundane parts of life, but we have lived a crazy life together, haven't we?” Jess sat and mused for a moment, basking in old memories, before continuing on.

“You are the strongest woman I know, Rey Pava. You have been through so much and shown me so much that I know that you are going to get through this too. I need you to, Rey. I need you to wake up sweetheart. We have lived the most incredible life and I am NOT done living it without you. I am not done loving you, and I never will be. I will do anything, Rey, anything I swear.”

Jess continued on for some time with other stories like their wedding and honeymoon adventure or buying the cabin in Tahoe. Just story after story of sweet nothings until eventually another nurse came in and Jess felt it time to take a bathroom break and search for a snack.

“Will you keep an eye on her while I’m gone?” Jess asked a little jokingly. There has been a team of doctors and nurses on the private Pava rotation since Rey was pushed through those doors. She is very taken care of.

“I absolutely will,” the nurse replied back seriously with a smile.

Jess was in line at the cafeteria, wondering silently to herself why they didn’t have multiple spots to get food around such a large hospital, when she heard “recovery suite” over the loudspeaker. She hadnt heard the first bit, lost in her own head, but listened this time, a little nervously.

Dr. Tico please report to suite 2187 immediately. All available neuro staff please report to suite 2187.

Jess’s stomach fell straight out of her knees, or maybe it was her tray of food hitting her knees as she dropped it and began running. I leave for 15 fucking minutes and something goes wrong? Please be ok please be ok please be ok please be ok is all she can chant to herself as she crashes her way through the halls and stairways, not wanting to waste any time waiting for an elevator. She elbowed her way through nurses and doctors all trying to get to the same room that she was and when she finally got close to the door she stopped dead.

She heard it.

She heard Rey’s voice. Rey!

But Rey was yelling, and she was yelling for Jess.

At the sound of her name coming raspily from her wife’s lips, Jess parted the sea of medical staff like Moses and was at the side of Rey’s bed in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, Jessika!” Rey said with a heavy sigh. “I’m so sorry.”

“What on earth are you sorry for, Rey?” Jess asked in a choked voice. Rey was awake! And talking!!

“They didn’t have salami, Jess!” Rey laid back, clearly exhausted. “I went to get us our favorite sandwiches and they didn’t have your favorite!”

Jess stared at her wife in amazement and didn’t know exactly how to react. Rey had been in a coma for nearly 3 weeks by now, and her first thought when she woke up was that their favorite italian sub shop was out of salami? She suddenly burst out laughing and couldn't stop. Everyone was looking at her like she was crazy but she didn’t know what else to do.

“Oh Rey, I love you so damn much,” was all Jess could say before the doctors pushed her aside and finally checked on their patient.

//

January 7, 2100

“Ready?” Jess hummed, voice still strong but raspy at her tender age.

“For anything, so long as it’s with you,” Rey replied with an arthritic squeeze to her wife’s hand.

/

The only goal Rey could remember that she had had her entire life was to live to be 107 so that she could see the year 2100. So much had changed in the world since her birth in December of 1992. Medicine, science, world relations, technology, society and so much more.

One of the greatest things to come out of all of the world’s advancements is the drop in stigma around human euthanization. It was deemed cruel and unusual punishment somewhere back in the 2060’s to prolong someone’s life if they were struck with a terminal illness or they had reached the age of 100 years old and their bodies just weren't keeping up.

Rey and Jess didn't pay much attention to that new rule until they got closer and closer to turning 100, and Rey brought up her goal to Jess once more as it started to seem like a reality.

See, the Pava girls really were an extraordinary couple who brought light and love and fun to wherever they were. LGBT couples were still hushed and swept under the rug when they were in their teens and even early twenties, but throughout the years the girls have been seen as the matriarchs of the LGBT community and always advocated for their rights and human rights in general. They dabbled in so many things and were always advocating for what they thought was right and truly have been a light on this earth.

Once Rey turned 100, as she is a few months younger than Jess, they put in their application to be euthanized together a month after her 107th birthday, so they could ring in the new century together, and then travel together on the next journey beyond this life.

/

“The process is simple and completely painless,” the doctor was explaining to Rey and Jess as nurses put in the IV’s. “One of you will control the button that, when you are ready, you will push it and it will fill the room with gas that will slowly put you into a sleep. Once you are asleep, we will administer the euthanizing medicine through your IV and you won’t feel a thing. Do you have any questions?”

“Are we on any sort of time restraint?” Jess asked a little wearily. Her and Rey had decided that she would be the one to push the button when they were ready for the gas, but now that they are here she doesn't want to be rushed.  
“No not at all, you have the entire day if you want to, Mrs. Pava. It is all about whatever makes you comfortable.” and with that, the doctor left the room. Once the IV’s were in and the girls laid down with their beds together, the nurses left as well, closing all windows and doors along the way so they were completely alone.

“Are you scared, Rey?”

“Not at all. Are you?”

“No. At least, I don’t think so?”

“What’s on your mind then?”

“I just dont think im ready to leave this life. To leave you. If I could relive it all over, I would. I mean it Rey, even the bad times I would do it all over again exactly as it was.”

“Mmm, me too, Jess.”

“Well except maybe the car accident for the salami sandwich,” Jess added with a chuckle.

“Hey Jess?”

“Yea?”

“I heard you, when I was in that coma. I don't know why I never told you, or maybe because you never asked, but I did. I heard all of you, actually, but yours was the strongest. It was the strangest feeling but it was like your words encircled me and were pulling me out of a deep pit and as it went on I started to feel less tight and more like I was floating and safe. Well then I woke up and you know the rest.”

“I feel like that's something pretty big you should have told me, Rey!”

“I guess I felt like if I told you then that protected feeling might go away? I don’t really know but it really has made me love you so much more for it. We have lived the most incredible life, Jessika, and I could easily relive it with you a million times over. I have trusted you 100% since the moment we met and I have never regretted trusting you with my heart, with my family, and with this job that you have to do right now. I trust you to push that button so that we can go on into whatever the universe has in store for us. And I will never, never forget us.”

Jess had already pushed the button, but knew that they were going to have some time to talk a little before they fell asleep so she continued on.

“Three amazing kids, eight wonderful grandkids, too many great grandkids to count, you get the idea. I am so glad that you got that part on that movie and we got to meet. Thank you for the most incredible life that anyone could ever imagine, Rey. There’s no one else I would have wanted to be with all this time.”

“Me too, Jess.” Rey said with a sigh. “You tired?

“Yea, I am. Are you?”

“Yea I am too. We should probably sleep now. Good night, Jess. I love you the most.”

“Good night Rey, I love you more than you could know.”

Together they closed their eyes, holding hands, and slipped off peacefully into the sweet, dark unknowns of merciful death.

//

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> This is the final end to our girls!!! If you have been here since the very beginning with Envelopes, I thank you and love you and I am so beyond sorry it has taken me this long to give them the ending that they deserve. I really hope you liked it and love them as much as I do!


End file.
